News

Inquiry call after floods of sewage in Wilsden

A sewage-filled flood which threatened homes in Wilsden at the weekend has prompted calls for an investigation by concerned councillors.

Horrified homeowners in Crack Lane woke on Sunday morning to find 5ins of water and effluent at their doorsteps.

Yorkshire Water helped clear the problem and yesterday there were calls to establish any link between the problem and a controversial housing development on a sloping greenfield site above the properties.

Bradford Council’s planning consent came with a list of 27 conditions, many of which required work by the company before building could begin.

These included a drainage plan as a previous proposal had been turned down because of drainage issues.

But work started before all these conditions were met, and the Council issued the enforcement notice in October to warn the company about its “breach of planning controls”.

The notice warned Harron Homes one such breach could lead to “excessive surface water run-off from the land, which has the potential to cause localised flooding”.

Coun Michael Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural) said: “I was on the planning committee and I voted against this development and one of the reasons was the risk of flooding.”

He said those affected would want answers and Wilsden parish councillor Tony Caunt agreed.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said: “This is an intolerable situation for local residents which needs sorting out once and for all.”

Harron Homes said it was unaware of any flooding issues at Crack Lane and offered to help in an investigation: A spokesman said a huge underground collection tank had been installed, but not yet connected to piping. A second similar tank will be installed next month. “Harron Homes have not been made aware of any contamination to surrounding gardens,” the spokesman said.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “There are conditions relating to the drainage of the housing development and Harron Homes are currently working hard to implement the approved drainage scheme.

“Any pipes connected to the public sewerage system are the responsibility of the developer and Yorkshire Water and we are further investigating the situation where raw sewage was flooding into residents' gardens with Yorkshire Water.”